Opinion Former Article

Gove wakes up to importance of computer science

While welcoming the Education Secretary's speech on computer science today (11 January 2012), Voice: the union for education professionals has expressed concerns about the practicalities of implementing the new computing curriculum.

General Secretary Philip Parkin commented:

“Voice welcomes the Education Secretary's recognition of the importance of computing, his announcement of increased training and collaboration, and his new-found enthusiasm for giving teachers greater freedom on how to teach a subject area that, however, remains excluded from the much-vaunted English Baccalaureate (EBacc) measure of supposedly 'vital' core subjects.

"However, there does seems to be confusion here between the functions of ICT and computer science. Whilst all pupils need to be ICT literate, they don't all need to be computer programmers.

"We look forward to reading and participating in the consultation, but we are concerned about how more specialist teachers will be recruited or trained and the curriculum prepared by September.

"More investment is required to ensure that schools can keep their hardware and software up to date."

Voice has always maintained that the EBacc is 'narrow and pointless" for reducing a broad and balanced curriculum to five subject areas, and ignoring ICT and many other important academic, technical and vocational subjects.

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